Owosso Public Schools Lays off 41 Employees

April 15, 2010

 Another way?another way?there has to be another way.

That underlying theme ech oed throughout the Owosso Middle School auditorium Monday evening, as the Owosso School Board considered laying off 41 teachers and support staff – a move the Board eventually made in a 6-1 vote.

Despite more than 150 audience members supporting the 41 teachers and support staff slotted for layoffs, the Board voted to move forward with the dismissal of nearly 25 percent of the district’s staff.

“We know they’re the best teachers,” said Board President Dan Comrie, who added many of them have eaten dinner at his home. “It’s not personal, it’s financial. We are keeping programs for the kids.”

Timothy Jenc, the Board’s vice president, was the lone dissenter to personnel reduction.

“I hope you all can sleep well tonight, I know you have faced many tough decisions, but Mr. Jenc, I want to thank you for having the guts to stand up for the people,” said Tom Manke, a parent of Owosso students.

The 41 staffers sat front and center in the auditorium with pink-colored slips pinned to their shirts, numbered 1-41, signifying each as one of the potential teachers to be laid off.

The Board’s intention is to rehire as many of the 41 teachers as possible.

Seniority and certifications held by employees were the determining factors in which staff members were selected. Superintendent Chris Hammill said he expects between $300-$450 per pupil funding cuts from the state, with the district losing about 75 students and all the funding that is tied to them.

Owosso Education Association President Jim Fournier said the numbers are simply estimates and continue to change drastically every month.

In his opinion, no drastic layoffs – like Monday night’s – should have taken place.

More than $1.5 million is expected to be saved with t he personnel reductions. The district is trying to close a projected $4.1 million budget deficit for the 2010-11 school year.

The Board meeting lasted more than three hours and was moved from the Middle School’s Board room to the auditorium to house the overwhelming number of attendees.

Valerie Chamberlin, a special education teacher at Bryant Elementary who was laid off, said all administrators, teachers and parents are going through similar downfalls in this economic downturn.

“These are peoples’ lives – we all have kids, we have mortgages, we have everything that they have, the same responsibilities and to alter that over projections … it just doesn’t make sense to me,” she said. “And I have two children, and if I have to move, they’re going too.”

Hammill said a few possibilities of saving money exist in the district’s efforts to renegotiate contracts with vendors, sharing services with other school districts, furlough days and cutting marketing 30 percent – among many other ideas.

District administrators also agreed to a pay freeze and insurance adjustment, saving the district $86,500 a year.

Jane Sharp, an Owosso High junior, said the 41 teachers being laid off are “everyday heroes.”

Kim Murphy, a concerned parent of a senior at Owosso High, said her son felt more of a connection – getting more individual help than ever before – with Owosso High’s average classrooms of 17 students than the parochial schools that had fewer students.

By laying off 41 teachers, classroom sizes are sure to skyrocket, many community members suggested.

The Board attempted to reassure the individuals multiple times throughout the evening that the decision to lay off teachers and support staff had nothing to do with their talents – it was strictly fi nancial.

One of the most controversial areas dealing with the 41 cuts, came in reference to Lincoln High School’s staff – for which six of seven positions will be axed.

Barbara Andres, one of those instructors, said releasing teachers who are committed to providing kids with more help than normal is terrible for them, the community and the future of the county.

“For a lot of those students, we are their family,” she said. “By eliminating 41 teachers, you are eliminating the chance for a lot of these kids to advance and meet their potential, because they don’t always have support elsewhere … is that really the best interest of the district?”

Andres said not only does it hurt the fiber of Owosso Public Schools, it creates a negative perception of the district as a whole.

“You guys are absolutely crazy,” said Manke to the Board, in reference to cutting six of seven Lincoln teachers. “I don’t know what you have in your minds. Politically, this is suicide. We need these teachers. We need their students. Or we can lose more money out of this district.”

Denise Hudson said she’s witnessed students, young and into their teen years, crying because of the news.

“Seriously guys, the kids are feeling it,” she said.

Owosso High sophomore Melissa Clark said promoting crowded classrooms is senseless; not to mention, cutting 25 percent of teachers will lead to the loss of electives and special-interest courses.

“I don’t want to be just put into classes that I don’t want, obviously,” she said.

Hammill, however, said it’s a fallacy to think classroom sizes “will balloon” yet did not provide reasons as to why they would not do so.

Dan Comrie said one of the Board’s top goals is to stay out of debt and not spend money that doesn’t exist.

Comrie said he’s been handed a pink slip in his career too.

Yet despite the butting of heads between the OEA and Board of Education, both parties remained positive near the conclusion of the evening.

“I hope you continue to work exactly like you promised you would, diligently … we’re committed to working collaboratively. We love Owosso, we love the people of Owosso and know what they deserve. We are Owosso,” Fournier said.

Mark Merlo, the varsity football coach and a teacher affected by the layoffs, said a committee should be formed to spearhead a plan to generate revenues for the district.

“Somehow, someway, those are things you need to do,” he said.